Comparison

Retrogram vs Strands WordBox Word Search

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Retrogram

Challenge your vocabulary with a daily word puzzle. Create as many words as possible from seven letters. Enjoy a stylish, retro-themed experience designed to sharpen your mind and introduce you to new words.

Highlights
  • Daily hand-made puzzles
  • Solve puzzles together via SharePlay
  • Apple Watch compatibility
  • No ads
  • Discover new words
Features
Read full description

Think you’re a word nerd? Put your vocabulary to the test with new word puzzles every day Retrogram is a love letter to the 1970s — a cozy collection of handcrafted word games, curious words and satisfying puzzles to make part of your daily routine PLAY EVERY DAY SPELLOTRON Make as many words as you can using seven letters. Find the pangram, climb the ranks and discover interesting stories behind some of your favorite words WORDWAY Build a bridge of words from one word to another. Use the letters you’re given and find a path across the board THERE’S MORE Subscribe to Retrogram to catch up on the past week of daily puzzles, explore the Puzzle Vault, play limited-edition bonus packs, switch things up with vintage app icons, and play after dark with Neon Nites FEATURES * Two handcrafted word puzzles every day * Play today’s Spellotron and Wordway puzzles for free * Catch up on the past seven days * A growing Vault of bonus puzzles * Limited-edition puzzle packs * Neon Nites dark theme * Vintage alternate app icons * SharePlay — solve together over FaceTime * Play Spellotron on your Apple Watch * No ads, ever Additional details Privacy policy: https://retrogram.app/#privacy Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Strands WordBox Word Search

Engage your mind with a challenging word search game featuring over 2,000 free puzzles. Enhance spelling and vocabulary, compete with friends, and track progress on a live leaderboard. Enjoy distraction-free gameplay with various modes and unlimited practice.

Highlights
  • Over 2,000 free puzzles
  • Enhance spelling and vocabulary
  • Play solo or challenge friends
  • Live leaderboard
  • Classic, Themed, and Frenzy modes
  • Unlimited gameplay
Features
Read full description

"A challenging game to keep your mind sharp!" "10/10" "Addictive and fun!" Challenge your word search skills with WordBox — the ultimate word search game with over 2,000 free puzzles to solve WITHOUT clues! • Search for hidden words in puzzles. • Enhance your spelling and vocabulary skills. • Play solo or challenge friends to a word battle. • View the app's live leaderboard to track your progress. • Thousands of free puzzles. ▶ WORD SEARCH GAME MODES ◀ 1. CLASSIC MODE: Attempt casual, hard, and impossible word search puzzles! 2. THEMED MODE: Animal, sports, and entertainment-themed puzzles await you! 3. FRENZY MODE: Beat as many 3x3 to 8x8 word games as possible in a timed challenge! ▶ HOW TO PLAY ◀ • Find and form words from an arrangement of letters in the “WordBox.” • Play the game solo or challenge friends to test your vocabulary and spelling skills. • Improve your lateral thinking by searching for hidden words by linking letters in the puzzle. • Level up your word search skills to improve your speed in finding words as you play more. • Practice as much as you want with unlimited gameplay in WordBox. ▶ WORDBOX COMPARED TO OTHER POPULAR WORD GAMES ◀ • Distraction-free, minimalist environment. • No ads or annoying pop-ups. • Solve unlimited word puzzles. • New themes and puzzle packs are added every month. • Play for free or upgrade to unlock premium puzzles available for in-app purchase. • Challenge friends to a word battle or play solo. • Improve your spelling and vocabulary skills in a stress-free environment. • Choose from over 2000+ free and premium word search finder games. ▶ SEE WHAT OTHER PLAYERS SAY ◀ • "The puzzles challenge you to think about and see words in new ways" • "The daily puzzle has the addictive effect of Wordle" • "Easy to pick up but hard to put down!" ▶ GET SUPPORT ◀ Have a question? Email us directly at oxygengamesxyz@gmail.com.

Screenshots

Retrogram4 screens
Strands WordBox Word Search4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Strands WordBox Word Search at 88% against Retrogram's 66%. Strands WordBox Word Search also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Retrogram sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Strands WordBox Word Search sells 34 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Strands WordBox Word Search holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 327 and 933 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Retrogram's written reviews are positive against 88% of Strands WordBox Word Search's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Retrogram ships an update every 3 weeks, Strands WordBox Word Search weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Retrogram versus Strands WordBox Word Search: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetrogramStrands WordBox Word Search
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (327 ratings)4.7 (933 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.1% of reviews88.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings327933 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size162 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerin ColorJames Ormond

Customer experience

Retrogram

All ratings326 ratings
Positive87.7%
Neutral2.5%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral9.7%
Negative24.2%

Strands WordBox Word Search

All ratings904 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral5.9%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive88.3%
Neutral3.9%
Negative7.8%

User reviews

Retrogram

From 327 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Retro aesthetic and clean interface design
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive gameplay mechanics
  • 🧠 Challenging and brain-stimulating puzzles
  • 📚 Interesting word definitions and fun comments
  • 🎮 Daily puzzle provides consistent engagement

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription pricing ($30-$80)
  • 🚫 Misleading free-to-play model with paywall
  • 📖 Inconsistent and limited word dictionary
  • 🔄 Words accepted one day but rejected another
  • ⏰ Only one puzzle per day (limited content)

Strands WordBox Word Search

From 933 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎉 Fun and challenging
  • 👍 Customizable theme settings
  • 🔒 Option to opt out of ads
  • 💡 Variety of difficulty levels
  • 🧠 Brain-stimulating gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🤬 Inappropriate ads
  • 🐛 Occasional performance issues
  • 🤔 Lack of explanations/help
  • 🤷‍♀️ Repetitive word choices

Bugs and requests

Retrogram

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Words marked as missed that were actually found
  • Puzzle letters changing when spinning the wheel
  • Apple Watch app no longer functioning
  • Game progress deletion without explanation
  • Inconsistent word acceptance across different puzzles
Show 2 more
  • Hint feature disappeared in recent updates
  • Contact support only available through Apple Mail

Requested features

10 requests
  • Access to previous/archived puzzles
  • Multiple puzzles per day or puzzle difficulty levels
  • Statistics tracking (completion rate, pangram frequency)
  • Hint system that doesn't impact streak
  • Word find rate percentages for context
Show 5 more
  • Immediate answer reveal after puzzle completion
  • Cheaper one-time purchase option instead of subscription
  • In-game dispute method for word validation
  • Apple Watch functionality restoration
  • Automatic daily prefix posting on social media

Strands WordBox Word Search

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Daily puzzle streak broken when completed before midnight
  • Landscape mode not working on some devices
  • App freezing or slowing down after extended use

Requested features

4 requests
  • More free play puzzles
  • Ability to sync progress across devices
  • Option to disable hints/clues
  • Larger font size for higher levels

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Retrogram

Subscriptions2
  • Daily Puzzle (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Daily Puzzle (Yearly)$29.991 Year
One-time8
  • Where in the World$3.99
  • 80s Dinner Party$4.99
  • Gaming Icons$4.99
Show 5 more
  • Stone Cold$4.99
  • Flower Power$4.99
  • Dear Reader$4.99
  • Outer Rim$4.99
  • Daily Puzzle (For Life)$49.99
34 purchases

Strands WordBox Word Search

One-time34
  • Unlock Offer$0.99
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Technology 2$0.99
Show 31 more
  • Food 2$0.99
  • Mathematics 2$0.99
  • Animals 2$0.99
  • Geography$0.99
  • Sports 2$0.99
  • Letter A$0.99
  • Colors 2$0.99
  • Marvel$0.99
  • Ssssssss$0.99
  • Entertainment 2$0.99
  • -ing$0.99
  • Rhyme Time$0.99
  • 1,000 Coins$0.99
  • Remove Ads$1.99
  • New Player Pack3 variants$2.99
  • Remove Ads$2.99
  • Impossible 2$2.99
  • Hard 2$2.99
  • Casual 2$2.99
  • 10,000 Coins$2.99
  • Remove Ads$3.99
  • 10,000 Coins2 variants$4.99
  • Remove Ads$4.99
  • 1,000 Coins$4.99
  • Remove Ads$6.99
  • Remove Ads$7.99
  • Remove Ads$8.99
  • 3,000 Coins$9.99
  • 100,000 Coins$11.99
  • 8,000 Coins$24.99
  • 17,000 Coins$49.99

Questions

Is Retrogram free?
Retrogram is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Strands WordBox Word Search free?
Strands WordBox Word Search is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Retrogram or Strands WordBox Word Search?
Strands WordBox Word Search is rated higher. Retrogram averages 4.5 out of 5 from 327 ratings, while Strands WordBox Word Search averages 4.7 from 933 ratings.
Do Retrogram or Strands WordBox Word Search have ads?
Neither Retrogram nor Strands WordBox Word Search shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Retrogram or Strands WordBox Word Search?
Retrogram ships an update every 3 weeks, and Strands WordBox Word Search weekly. Most recently, Retrogram was updated on October 25, 2026 and Strands WordBox Word Search on October 24, 2026.

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